Effective Topical Delivery of Minoxidil via Chitosan Coated Nanocapsules to Remodel Microenvironment of Dermal Follicle for Hair Regeneration

February 2026 in “ Drug Delivery and Translational Research ”

Jin Sil Lee, Tae Eon Park, Panmo Son, Hyeryeon Oh, Su Bin Lee, Sunghyun Kim, Jeung-Hoon Lee, Ki Hean Kim, Won Il Choi

minoxidil chitosan-coated nanocapsules hair regeneration alopecia dermal follicle topical delivery encapsulation efficiency skin penetration sustained release cytotoxicity cell proliferation Rogaine ChiNCs

TLDR Chitosan-coated nanocapsules improve minoxidil delivery for better hair regrowth.

The study investigates the use of chitosan-coated nanocapsules (ChiNCs) for delivering minoxidil topically to treat hair loss. These nanocapsules enhance the solubility and skin penetration of minoxidil without the need for irritating solvents. The minoxidil-loaded ChiNCs (MXD@ChiNCs) showed high encapsulation efficiency, stability, and a sustained release profile, with no cytotoxicity or impact on cell proliferation in skin-related cell lines. In animal models, MXD@ChiNCs significantly improved hair regrowth compared to other minoxidil formulations, indicating their potential as an effective topical treatment for alopecia.

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